The South Korean women's national volleyball team has qualified for the 2027 FIVB World Cup, which will offer berths for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
The International Volleyball Federation announced the 32 participating countries Sunday. South Korea earned a place based on its world ranking of No. 27 as of Friday.
The FIVB previously renamed the World Championship, which had been held every four years through 2025, as the World Cup and decided to stage it every two years. It will be South Korea's first appearance in the competition in five years.
South Korea secured its place after a difficult qualifying path. The team lost to Thailand in the quarterfinals of the Asian Championship in August, missing both the semifinals and one of the three automatic World Cup berths awarded at the tournament.
Its final chance came through the world rankings. The 32-team World Cup will feature automatic qualifiers host countries the United States and Canada and defending champion Italy, along with 15 teams from continental championships. The remaining 14 places are awarded based on world rankings, and South Korea made the cut.
The tournament will be held in the United States and Canada from Aug. 20 to Sept. 5 next year. The 32 teams will be divided into eight groups of four, with the top two teams from each group advancing to the round of 16.
The tournament is especially important because Olympic qualification is at stake. Twelve teams will compete in women's volleyball at the 2028 Los Angeles Games.
Host United States and the five continental champions will qualify first. Of the remaining six berths, three will go to the three highest-placed teams at the World Cup that have not already qualified, while the final three will be awarded based on the world rankings.
That means South Korea will need either a top-three World Cup finish or a strong enough performance to substantially improve its world ranking to keep its Olympic hopes alive.
Meanwhile, the South Korean men's national team already secured direct qualification for the 2027 World Cup by finishing third at the Asian Championship last month.
(This article was produced with the assistance of AI. — Ed.)
